Abstract

In football, the activity standard of adult players, both male and female ones, has been studied at great length. However, those studies focused on the analysis of infantile players’ displacements are very limited. A wider knowledge about demands for this sport in its early stages would allow the making up of training programs more appropriate to the features of children at those ages. This study aimed to quantify the displacements made by infantile football players (12.2±0.6 years old; 156±0.8 cm. and 51±5.2 kg.) from the city of Melilla by using devices based on GPS technology. The results found certify that infantile football is an intermittent sports specialty in which high intensity activities alternate with game situations which allow player’s recovery by standing still, walking or running at very slow speed. The work-rest rate was of 1:3.5 and the covered distance per minute was about 100 m. on average. This distance varies with a linear decline as the match develops, showing significant differences between match start and end, a fact which would be a signal of fatigue. High intensity efforts involve the 6.1% of the whole game time and the 16.3% of the whole covered distance, with an average top sprint of 10-15 m. each 141 seconds. The implementation of tasks which reproduce game intensity during short periods of time (not above 10 minutes) would guarantee high work intensity during trainings.